Design and validation of the Interpersonal Conflict Resolution Scale (MERCI) for adolescents

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. The promotion of mediation and the rule support for alternative conflict resolution procedures in adolescence has created the need to provide practitioners with evaluation instruments to design mediation strategies. Hence, a study with the aim of creating and validating a scale to evaluate the employed tactics by adolescents to conflict solving was designed. METHOD. As for this, A total of 773 participants aged 10 to 17 years (M = 12.43, SD = 1.31) and of both sexes (50.97% girls and 49.03% boys) answered (Thurstone’s method) to a pool of items (50) measuring conflict solving tactics. RESULTS. A confirmatory factor analysis validated a scale, consisting of 22 items, structured around three factors (model): collaborative, passive and aggressive tactics. Moreover, the invariance of the model was observed in the subsamples of men and women (difCFI < .01) and the external validity (i.e., convergent and discriminant) of the measure was verified. Both, the scale and factors were reliable (α and ω > .70). DISCUSSION. The implications of the results and the utility of the measurement instrument for intervention in conflict solving and for the design of mediation programs that promote conflict resolution and violence prevention skills are discussed.